19 November 2017

I copied that from wherever I found it a long time ago, and stuck it on my wall because in my life anyway, there are times when it feels like my dreams and hopes are sacrificed on the altar of all manner of things and that feels horrible. Things like indifference, apathy, difficulty, tiredness, etc, all of which I can personally feel at times but also all which I can sense in others’ feeling. It is in those times when we need to remember quotes like the one above to keep us grounded so that we can go on.

Of course, perhaps the most famous speech which was full of ‘dream’ language was that given by Martin Luther King Jnr in 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial. It is still referred to as the ‘I have a dream’ speech. We all know what it was about; the changing of a whole cultural worldview which is called a paradigm shift of thinking. In other words it was a speech speaking out the hopes and dreams of one man for a new future and it resonated in the hearts and minds of so many in the day, and still does. In part it went…

“…I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”

He started with his dreams in the natural (rampant racism and the equality of human beings) but made his way towards the end of the speech to the Bible and our hope in God.

You know folks, for some reason Christmas time can for many people, be a time of great stress, hurt and even misery. It can be for many something which is far from the ‘Joy to the World’ that we sing about and know to be true.

So if you happen to be in that place, dream your dream ‘and don’t let your spirits falter. Keep your eyes focused on Jesus.’ Martin Luther King Jnr knew this to be so, so in his powerful speech against all odds and at personal risk, that is still where he headed at the end. Jesus can bring refreshment. He can bring rest for your soul. He can restore lost dreams and battered hopes. He can wipe the tears of despair from your eyes. He can if you let Him; if you ask Him. Try Him. He will not falter.